Heroes of the Games- The 88th Hunger Games
by neb88
Summary: "It's that time of year again..." and this year's Games has been promised to be the bloodiest one yet. Who will fall? Who will you root for? Who will become the heroes of the 88th annual Hunger Games? SYOT- CLOSED kinda (wat)
1. Head Gamemaker

**Head Gamemaker Neb**

It's that wonderful time of year again, the Hunger Games. My months of work and preparation will finally pay off as the world watches in awe the masterpiece I created. The masterpiece that is the 88th Hunger Games.

However, in a few moments, 24 lucky children will get to play in the beautiful wonderland I created, so I mustn't be late.

I hurry down the confusing halls of the Lab. Whoever made the layout for this building clearly wasn't thinking straight; I've walked these halls at least a billion times and I still have no idea where I'm going.

I turn a corner and- oh no, not her. What does she want now?

"Excuse me, Sir," she says calmly. Just the way she speaks pisses me off. I want to fire her, but she gets shit done. If we didn't have her, the Games probably would be delayed by a few years.

"What is it, Damara?" I ask unenthusiastically. She is such a nag.

"I need you to fill out the final form for mutt 413."

I sigh and place my hand on her shoulder like I would with a young child. "Damara, darling, we don't have 413 mutts, we only have three at the most. I think you need to take a little break. You're going crazy."

"No, but it's for all th-"

"Shh, Damara, I don't have time for this shit. I have to go watch the reapings. We can do this later," I say and stomp away. Some people.

Finally, I make it to the TV room. When I enter, I only see Eridan, another useless employee. That's strange; I thought everyone was getting together to watch the reapings...

"Eridan, where is everyone?"

"Gone."

One thing I like about Eridan is his attitude; he's sassy like me.

"Everyone should be here for the reapings, though," I say.

"The reapings were hours ago, Sir. You missed them."

Shit.

"But we recorded them, so watch them whenever you want." He speaks almost as unenthusiastically as me as he leaves the room.

Well, at least there won't be anyone to bother me while I watch the reapings. I sit down on the giant couch, grab the remote, and turn on the TV.

**Alright so theres the intro! If you're interested in submitting tributes in the story then **_**PM**_** me****,**** the form should be on my profile. **_**Tributes submitted through reviews wont be picked **_**because that not allowed. Make sure you use my form and I'll likely only accept 2 tributes per person unless I'm in need of more. I'd really appreciate it if you submitted some tributes! :D**

**I'll probably just post a chapter with the final list and I may end up changing around districts and stuff if it needs to happen but ya submit away! **


	2. The President

**President Penelope Reynolds**

I grab the remote and turn off the TV. The reapings went well and it seems as though we'll have a good batch of tributes for this year's Games; much better than last year.

Last year, the Games were _awful_. There was only one strong Career; all the other tributes were pathetic. The victor was the only tribute with a brain in the arena, so he easily outsmarted that idiotic Career boy and ended up winning. To be honest, I'm not even sure which district he was from. I had lost interest in last year's Games almost immediately.

This year, however, I'm sure will be much better. The tributes look much more promising. Plus, I have a whole new batch of Gamemakers since most of the ones who worked on the Games last year were executed.

I look down at my watch and frown. It's already 4:46. At 5:00 I'm supposed to be interviewing a possible replacement Master of Ceremonies. Unfortunately, Caesar Flickerman passed away, and I don't know how we're going to find a suitable replacement.

I look around my office and realize that I should tidy up before the interview. I pick up the revolver on my desk, make sure it's loaded, and put it in the drawer closest to my right hand.

I pick up some paper work and tossed it in the garbage. It's likely unimportant, anyway.

I continue organizing my desk until it's clean. All that's left at this point is my calendar, pencil holder, a little lamp, my coffee mug (which is now empty) and a small picture frame.

The picture is of myself, President Snow and Vice President Waltz. The photo had been taken a few months before the 3rd Quarter Quell. It seems that after that picture was taken, everything fell apart.

The districts, led by that incorrigible Katniss Everdeen, had started rebelling after the disaster of the Quarter Quell and the escaped victors, and don't even get me started on District Thirteen. That rebellion had been a very close call for the Capitol. They got so close to taking us over; they managed to kill President Snow and Vice President Waltz, however they left me to live. I guess (being the 3rd in command) I just wasn't important enough.

While the rebels were busy executing Panem's leaders, I guess you could say I was organizing my own little rebellion against the rebellion. We killed nearly everyone that had taken part in their act of defiance. All the victors who participated were killed (all except Katniss, Peeta, and Alma Coin, who were each given their own public executions), which ended up posing a problem when it came to mentors; there were still a few districts who had lost all their victors, so we had to send in hired mentors from the Capitol.

After we took down the rebels, I naturally took my rightful place as president. After all, I had been the one to take back the control from Thirteen, and I was next in line anyway.

It took a few years for everything to return to normal, but in the end, everything was sorted out.

I put down the picture, which I apparently picked up at some point. Looking back at my watch, I see that the candidate for Master of Ceremonies should be here in just a few minutes.

I stand up and walk over to the nearby mirror; I have to make sure I look presentable.

I fix my hair. It's light brown and fairly long, or at least I consider it to be long. My eyes are also a light brown colour. I find my appearance pretty dull and boring; I don't really have any features that stand out.

I frown and return to my desk.

Almost as soon as I sit down, the phone rings. I groan. I have no idea why we had to put it all the way by the door to my office. I've been meaning to get that fixed for a while now. Having to pick up a telephone seems so below me too. I'd much rather have an intercom installed.

I get back up and drag myself over to the phone.

"Hello?" I answer, trying to keep my voice neutral. I'm not even sure why I have to go through all these formalities. I know that the only person who ever calls me is my assistant, Gomez.

"Shawnt'elle Mitsuko is here for her interview."

"Alright, let her come in in 6 minutes." It's just a rule of thumb that you always make a visitor wait if you're meeting with them.

"Of course, Ms. Reynolds," he says and hangs up the phone.

I make my way back to the desk and sit down. That poor girl doesn't know what she's getting herself into.

**This is just a little filler chapter so I can give everyone an update on the tributes so far and stuff. Thank you to everyone who's submitted a tribute so far, I really appreciate it! There are still plenty of spots open so if you've only submitted one tribute, feel free to submit another or tell your friends to submit one! And for the tribute list, it's not super official, if your tribute is on the list, they are in the games but some district could potential end up being changed. Don't forget to review about what you thought of this chapter, I'd really appreciate it! :D**

**Also thank you to The Whispering Panda for Beta Reading this! :D**

**District 1:**

Male- Ivan Hazelwood (17)

Female- Ciara Regan (16)

**District 2:**

Male- Jagger Krall (18)

Female-

**District 3:**

Male- Maxton Lockhearst (12)

Female-

**District 4:**

Male- Blade Finch (17)

Female-

**District 5:**

Male-

Female- Yuki Belephant (15)

**District 6:**

Male-

Female-

**District 7:**

Male-

Female-

**District 8:**

Male-

Female- Indigo McIrish (14)

**District 9:**

Male-

Female- Lynn Rivera (15)

**District 10:**

Male-

Female- Patience Wilkes (16)

**District 11:**

Male-

Female-

**District 12:**

Male-

Female- Arty Waters (17)

**(if I got anything wrong like I misspelled their name or got the age wrong feel free to tell me, but the districts were changed a bit cause it couldn't work for everyone so sorry about that :P)**


	3. Gamemaker, Head of Technology

**Gamemaker, Head of Technology: Marquise Octet**

I sit in front of my computer, rapidly encoding the final bits of data to the last addition of the games. It's going to be the best addition to the games because I'm the one who made it, and anything I make is bound to be spectacular.

I continue rapidly pressing buttons until I'm finally done… for today. I lean back in my chair and stretch my arms out. My long wavy black hair hangs over the edge of my spinny chair. I still have to get a lot done.

I do a quick check over of all the files and make sure everything is in order. It will be finished by tomorrow. I'm sure of it.

Just thinking of my amazing creation puts a huge grin on my face. It'll add a lovely twist to the games. Now, you're probably thinking I won't tell you because Gamemaker stuff is all confidential, but fuck that, I do what I want.

Before the tributes entered the arena, they'll be given their tracker along with a metallic bracelet, which is what I was making. When the tribute dies, receptors in the bracelet will pick up the absence of a pulse and it will begin. The bracelet will release millions of tiny wires throughout the tribute's body, making them puppet like. And behind every puppet, there's a puppeteer.

That's where I come in. Oh, and the other Gamemakers, I guess. Once the wires are in place, we will be able to control the dead tribute's body and use it to attack other tributes. And, no, their movements won't be slow and sloppy. The corpses will be redesigned to have robot-like speed and movement, and the bodies become as strong as some of the Careers.

Now, you're probably thinking, "Well now, that's not very fair to all the weaker, living tributes." To be honest, I couldn't care less about weak tributes. My hope with this idea is that it will eliminate them.

However, it's quite easy to deactivate the bracelet; all you would need to do is chop off the hand. That cuts of the connection from the rest of the body, making them double dead.

And that pretty much sums up the greatest Hunger Games idea ever.

I get up out of my chair and look at the prototype of the bracelet. We keep it in a glass case in the middle of the technology wing. It's pretty boring; just a big circular room with computers lining the walls and then important, collaborative stuff in the center.

I leave the room through the large, arched entrance. I make my way through the confusing halls to go home. I finally make it to the lobby of the Gamemaker's Headquarters, as I call it. The lobby is quite beautiful. There are lots of plants and windows, as well as a big fountain in the center.

I walk up to the fountain and look inside. Of course, there's a boatload of change at the bottom. I scoop up a handful and stuff it in my pocket. Finders keepers.

I take a moment to look at myself in the water's reflection. I almost always find myself lost in my own complexion because I'm the sexiest person in Panem. Of course, others often don't agree. But what do those idiots know?

I like to keep my appearance very casual, nothing too fancy. I think dying your skin and hair just makes you look like a freak. All I do is wear cerulean eyeliner and eyeshadow.

I fling my hair back and make my way out of the building. I'll have plenty of time to look at myself later.

**Sorry for the late update but I was really busy last week and then my beta was busy too, busy busy _bee? _Hopefully you like this chapter as well as the new character! Let me know what you think of all the characters that have been added so far, I plan on having one more sub plot character chapter before I move on to the reapings!**

**So just and FYI, you can submit more then 2 tributes but any others you submit will not be accepted until I'm going to start doing the reapings, they're kinda on queue if I end up not getting enough submissions, if you do have 3 tributes in the games, 1 of them _will_ die in the bloodbath or at least day 1.**

**Also how would you like me to write the reapings? Previously in a SYOT that I helped write we bunched 3 districts into one chapter. Do you like that idea? Good, bad? Let me know what you would prefer! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and submitted tributes so here the list so far! (pst if you wanna submit a second tribute guys are needed)**

**District 1:**

Male- Ivan Hazelwood (17)

Female- Ciara Regan (16)

**District 2:**

Male- Jagger Krall (18)

Female- Cartatia (Cartaysha) Mason (17)

**District 3:**

Male- Maxton Lockhearst (12)

Female-

**District 4:**

Male- Blade Finch (17)

Female- Roxi Mer (17)

**District 5:**

Male-

Female- Yuki Belephant (15)

**District 6:**

Male-

Female- Kerie Rose Webb (14)

**District 7:**

Male-

Female- Cardamon Rose (13)

**District 8:**

Male-

Female- Indigo McIrish (14)

**District 9:**

Male-

Female- Elsie Mills (14)

**District 10:**

Male-

Female- Patience Wilkes (16)

**District 11:**

Male- Rye Torr

Female-

**District 12:**

Male-

Female- Arty Waters (17)

**let me know if I forgot your tribute cause I'm pretty sure I've accepted all tributes so far :P**


	4. Master of the Ceremonies

**Shawnt'elle Mitsuko Master Of the Ceremonies**

I walk out of her office and close the door behind me. I think the interview went quite well. In a matter of days, I would be getting the phone call to inform me that the job was mine. I make my way down the hall until I reach the front desk. A man is sitting behind it, looking around. His name is Gomez, apparently. He nods at me as I walk by, so I nod back. I make my way out of the building. It's a little windy outside, but overall it's a pretty nice day. The sun is almost gone; all that could be seen were the beautiful colours of the sky on the horizon.

My car was parked on the other side of the parking lot, so it took me a while to get there. It seemed to me that the president had quite the office running, even though it was getting a little late.

Finally I made it to my cute, little, purple car. I took out my keys, opened the door and got inside. Sitting down, I sighed; It had been a long day for me. I look up to the rear-view mirror to check how I looked. I had tried my best to look decent today since, duh, I was meeting the president, but I was a plain Jane. I didn't really wear any makeup or do anything particularly Capitol-like. I remember when I was younger, people at school would make fun of me and call me 'district scum', because my brown hair and eyes were so boring. I put my hair up in a messy bun, but it didn't really work out as well as I hoped. Oh well. I put the car in reverse and backed out of my parking spot, switched it back to drive, and began to make my way back home.

The main reason why I wanted to be the Master of the Ceremonies was for the money. All my jobs to date had just been little side jobs that didn't bring in much money; however I had always had a thing for acting. Now you may be thinking, how does acting relate to the doing interviews and talking on live TV? Well I mean, you probably get that I have to be good at talking and putting on a smile and stuff, but really, the main reason it was important was because I hated people. Well, not all people. Just these little things about some people and the way the acted.

Take President Reynolds, for example. It pisses me off how she's acting so nice and sweet, while everyone knows that she's a cold, heartless bitch. I mean, I'm pretty sure that's a necessary qualification for a president, to be cold and heartless. Don't even get me started on Gomez. Come on, stand up for yourself, stop being Reynolds' little bitch. Actually talk to people, don't just nod! What does nodding even mean?

I was sure that it would be quite the challenge to talk to some of the tributes, even though I had yet to watch the reapings. I knew I could do it. Pretending to be ok with things and people was kind of my specialty. My whole life was kind of just a big lie. Oh god, that was so deep, but my life actually isn't a complete lie. Only towards most people.

I finally made my way home through the busy Capitol traffic. The traffic really was awful; the President really should do something about it. I pull into my driveway and step out of my car. I don't live anywhere too fancy, since I don't have all that much money. It's just this this cute, little three-story building. On each floor, there's an apartment. It isn't much, but it's home. Once I got the job, I'd be moving out of this dump.

**wow ok so sorry for the long update, I had it written a while ago but my beta is super busy and stuff so I'm trying to find other people and stuff, if anyone is a beta or knows a good beta let me know cause it seems like eveyrone's always busy, I have a little ad kinda on my profile of the stuff I need in a beta :P**

**also THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE TRIBUTES! :D i got a huge pile of tributes after the last update and all the spots are full so yay! :D I tried to work all the district stuff out and also I might've changed the age of some tributes, mostly careers cause I think its a littl silly that they're 17 and they volunteer, like can you not wait one more year? not that it really matter but anyway.**

**finally i started writing the reapings, I got through the first pov and its about 900 words and its just from like the tribute in their house to them volunteering, the second tribute pov would be the district partner doing goodbyes and stuff and maybe a bit of the reaping, which would be probably alot shorter, so I'm guessing overall that it would be like 1500 words, and if you read my stupid long authors note last time you saw that I wanted to group the reapings together maybe and it would be like 3 districts at a time, so that like maybe 4500 words per chapter possibly maybe, the reapings would be over alot faster but like is that to much words for one chapter? or would it just be easier to like do them indiviually, you know what I'll just put up a poll but feel free to leave like reasonings and stuff or whatever**

**and just one last thing (omg this is so long) tell me what you think about all the characters so far! what do you think about them and do you want to see more of them? let me know! :D now on to the final tribute list! :D**

**District 1:**

Male- Ivan Hazelwood (17)

Female- Ciara Regan (16)

**District 2:**

Male- Jagger Krall (18)

Female- Cartatia (Cartaysha) Mason (18)

**District 3:**

Male- Maxton Lockhearst (12)

Female- Dahlia Rozario (12)

**District 4:**

Male- Blade Finch (18)

Female- Roxi Mer (18)

**District 5:**

Male- Calvex "Vex" Copperdeen (13)

Female- Yuki Belephant (15)

**District 6:**

Male- Quintilius (Quint) Spoolwaithe (18)

Female- Kerie Rose Webb (14)

**District 7:**

Male- Oak Oliver (16)

Female- Cardamon Rose (13)

**District 8:**

Male- Cirrus Starks (16)

Female- Indigo McIrish (14)

**District 9:**

Male- Dokov Moldova (14)

Female- Elsie Mills (14)

**District 10:**

Male- Sable Galloway (16)

Female- Patience Wilkes (16)

**District 11:**

Male- Rye Torr (18)

Female- Mira Mallory (17)

**District 12:**

Male- Dorian Twill (12)

Female- Arty Waters (17)


	5. District 1 Reaping

**District 1 – Ciara Regan**

I observed my appearance in the mirror one last time, ensuring that I looked perfect for the reapings. My long light brown hair with golden highlights was brushed to perfection. I had decided to wear the velvet pink dress that I've wanted for the longest time. I thought that it brought out the colour of my pale blue eyes quite nicely. I took the longest time on my makeup, but I it paid off. I was fucking immaculate. I was ready for the reapings.

I made my way out of my room and into the light-filled kitchen. My mum and two little brothers were all eating breakfast at the kitchen table. I flashed my mum a quick smile before sitting down with the rest of them. I got along quite well with my family, but there wasn't much going on in terms of talking today. It's the first day on my quest to become the victor of the 88th Hunger Games, after all. After a few minutes of silent eating, I spoke up.

"So, where's Dad?" I asked my mom, looking across the table at her.

"Oh, he had some work to get finished up before the reapings. You know him... Always working to help us out." she explained. I nodded. My mum and dad always did anything they could to help get money for us. We weren't exactly the richest family in the district, so we tried our hardest to keep up and fit in with the upper class families. That's where volunteering for the Hunger Games came in. After winning, my family would to move to the victor's village, and then we'd become one of the wealthiest families in Panem! When my father had brought up the idea a few years ago, I was pretty hesitant. Not anymore. After I finished breakfast, my mom spoke up again.

"Ciara, you'd better get going now before you're late. I'll be there after breakfast with the boys."

I nodded and gave each of my brothers a smile; they smiled back before returning to their breakfast. I gave a final glance at the kitchen before walking over to the hallway. I stopped by the mirror to check if my hair was still fine. Didn't want to embarrass myself on the way there or anything. I said my goodbyes before leaving the house. While walking to the reaping, I let my mind wander a bit. I really couldn't have asked for a better family. Most of my friends and schoolmates complained about their parents and siblings, but my brothers were the sweetest things. They were always calm, obedient and polite. My sister, on the other hand... Well, I stopped viewing her as my sister many, many years ago.

I guess I hadn't been really paying attention because I felt a thud against my side and I fell over. What the hell?! I looked up to see a little girl, maybe 14, with short frizzy blonde hair lying on the ground. How dare she run into me! I was furious. I got up and brushed off my new dress. The blonde girl began apologizing as she got up, but I stormed over to her. She didn't understand how hard I had worked to get ready this morning for this one single moment.

"You... Little BITCH!" I screamed, slapping her across the face. I had to get my anger out somehow. She let out a small shriek and fell back down to the ground she had just gotten up off of.

"You... You ruined my brand new dress, you ruined my hair, and you ruined my day! You ruined everything! You don't know who I am, do you? I'm Ciara mother-fucking Regan! Nobody messes with me. Do you hear me? NOBODY!" I yelled all her until tears started streaming down her face. I brushed myself off again and fixed up my hair. I gave her a final warning glare before turning on my heel and walking quickly away, not changing pace until I arrived at the reapings. It looked like they were about to start. I quickly got into my place with the other 16 year old girls. I found my friend Ashling, but the other, Lona, was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Lona?" I asked.

"No idea, she was here a few minutes ago... Then she ran off saying that she had to get something." Ashling replied. God! My friends could be so dumb sometimes. There was nothing more important right now than watching me walk my first steps to become a winner. Lona had always been pretty skeptical about me volunteer, while Ashling had been cheering me on from the very start.

The escort made her way up to the stage and did the usual boring speech and shit. I really wasn't paying that much attention. I just wanted to be in the spotlight already! After a while longer, she finally said something I cared about.

"Alright then, ladies first." She announced as she walked over to the big jar full of pieces of paper. One of those little bits of paper had my name on it, my chance of living the good life. She stuck her hand into the jar and scooped out a piece. It would be mine.

"Duffy Leer."

I was about to volunteer right then, but something stopped me. Why was I hesitating? I was trained to do this; there was no way I could lose. I was the best, after all. I had been telling myself that my entire life. In my moment of hesitation I saw Duffy walking out of the crowd. Oh, no. It was the little bitch that I put in place when she pushed me over. Part of me wanted to watch her die in the Games. There was always next year to volunteer. Except... I couldn't! I had promised that I would do it this year. I already had the vision of me wearing the crown after winning the games. I dreamt it nearly every night, and it was going to come true.

"I volunteer" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I made my way out of the crowd and to the stage and pushed Duffy out of my way. The escort started to ask me what my name was, but I swiftly nudge her aside and snatch the microphone.

"My Name Is Ciara Regan, and I will, without a doubt, be the victor of this year's Hunger Games."

I looked at the crown, admiring it for a moment before I turned my eyes to the huge crowd. My audience. Everyone was clapping for me. I spotted my mum, dad and brother clapping for me with sad smiles on their faces. Then... I saw my sister. Everything seemed to slow down a split second. She was glaring at me. What was the problem? I quickly averted my eyes, and basked in the glory of knowing that I was one step closer to my family's life-long dream coming true.

**District 1- Ivan Hazelwood**

I was waiting on the couches of the justice building, waiting for my father to come by. I had propped my elbows up on my knees, my hands on my face. The view of the floor was obstructed by my shaggy black hair hanging in front of my blue gaze. I leaned back against the couch. The couches here were a lot comfier than the ones we had at home. I guess it was just a sort of consolation, if you ended up being one of the tributes to die. 'Oh you may have died but at least you get to say goodbye to your loved ones on a comfy couch.' Something like that.

I wasn't planning on dying, though. Ever since my mother ran off with another guy, my father and I have had a tough time making ends meet. To be honest we definitely weren't the poorest in the district, but I felt like we deserved a lot better. Doesn't everyone? All my classmates in school would always make fun of me for being the poorest in the class. Usually I would just beat the shit out of them afterwards, but in the end, it never did any good other than getting anger out. Everyone at my school was an asshole so, that was another perk of being in the Hunger Games. I wouldn't have to see them ever again.

I would either die, or go live in the victor's village. I would never have to take anyone's shit ever again. I was worried, though. If I didn't win, what would become of my father? There would be one less mouth to feed, but I still brought in a good chunk of the money. Maybe he'd be able to re-marry. No, thinkig like that wouldn't do me any good. I had to win, for me and my father. I looked up at the clock and checked the time. What was taking them so long?

My thoughts wandered to the female tribute. Cira or something, I didn't really know. She seemed like the sterotype for District 1. Ego-centric, arrogant brat. She thought she was so great, but once she was in the arena, her eyes would be opened, no doubt. I was not looking forward to having to interact with her, but it was something that had to be done. I was sure that there would be other tributes who would be more to my liking.

Finally after what seemed like hours of waiting, the door finally opened. I was expecting my dad to be the first one to greet me, but instead it was Europa. She was an elderly professional jeweller. I've been here apprentice for the last couple of years, now. We had gotten to know each other very well, and we were very close. I stood up off of the couch to greet her.

"Oh Ivan, dear." She came running at me and hugged me. She had tears streaming down her face. I know she had been against me volunteering, but I knew she was stronger than this. I had been expecting her to come in with a strong face to wish me luck, not tears.

"Don't worry Europa... I'll be fine." I said, trying to reassure her. She took a sharp inhale and shook her head sadly.

"No it's not you, it's your father."

I took a step back with a confused look on my face, trying to figure out what she meant. She looked so sad.

"What's going with my father?" I asked. I almost didn't want to hear the answer.

"He's in the emergency room in critical condition. After you left they, the doctors, believe he had a heart attack."

At first, I just stood in shock. All of my emotions came rushing forth at the same time. Sorrow, that my father could die at any moment and I wouldn't even get to see him. I was frustrated, because I wasn't there for him when I should have been. And I was angry and bitter. At everyone, and everything.

I picked up a pillow off the couch and threw at the wall. I grabbed the expensive-looking vase sitting on the side table and smashed it onto the floor. The best way for me to let my emotions out was rage and anger, I had learned that from school. There was no way I'd be able to sit down and count to ten or just hold it in; I had to let it out somehow. I kicked over one last chair before looking back at Europa. She was looked very upset, but she understood. I told her about my problems at school whenever we worked. I walked over to her and gave her one last hug.

The peacekeepers finally came in; I was surprised they didn't come in when I had my little meltdown.

"Time's up," One of them said.

Europa had no intention of leaving, so the peacekeepers had to grab her by the shoulder and pull her away. As she was pulled away from me, our hands met. I felt something cold in my palm. It was an emerald ring. More emotions began building up inside me. Europa had always said that this was her favourite piece of work, and she had given it to me. I gave a sad smile and nodded to her as she was taken out of the room.

I had to make it back now for Europa, and especially for my father.

**SORRY FOR TAKING 289753894759384753897 YEARS TO UPDATE! my original thinking was that I would post 3 district reapings at the time so I wrote all three and then there was exams and I needed to get it betaed but everyone had exams so that was a process so now I decided I'm going to do each repings individually so I have 2 more reapings to post after this one :3 again sorry for that wait**

**and thank you to my friend bees for betaing this chapter and the next 2! I really appreciate reviews and stuff or just any way of letting me know your thought on the chapter!**


	6. District 2 Reaping

**District 2- Cartatia Mason**

"Alright, keep your arms steady, stay calm." I felt the boy's shoulder relax under my hand.

"Now draw back, not too hard though." He pulled the string back until there was just the right amount of tension.

"Make sure you aim always aim slightly higher than the target." He slightly shifted the direction his bow was facing.

"Now, release."

He let go of the string and the arrow went soaring through the air. There was a small thud as the arrow hit the target. It hit the third ring. It wasn't too bad, considering that it was only his second week of training.

"Good work today, Less. I won't be here for the next few weeks, so you'll be working with Tye on some hand-to-hand combat."

He nodded and gathered up his stuff before he made his way out of the training center. He was 13, and training for the games. He had started a bit late than most, but better late than never. I looked up at the clock in the training center. I still had a fair amount of time before the reapings, and I had to look presentable. While Less still had a few more years, this year was my turn to volunteer.

I grabbed my bag and made my way to the changing room. I took my long black hair out of its ponytail and peeled off my work clothes. I brought out a pale yellow sundress and slipped it on. I took out a brush and brushed my hair to get some of the tangles out. I looked in the mirror and shrugged. I looked fine. I threw my other pair of clothes in my bag and tossed it into my locker. It was time for the reapings.

I had been training for the games for as long as I can remember. I came to the training center so frequently, they even asked me to be an instructor. Of course, I accepted it. I loved helping others become strong like me, and learn their skills. I didn't actually love the people themselves; I just loved helping them discover their inner selves, just as my trainer had done for me. Before, I had been so timid and quiet, but after I started training, it opened up a new side of me. I was now tougher than stone, cunning and fierce. I would do whatever it took to reach my goals.

I considered stopping by my house on the way to the reapings, but unfortunately I didn't have time. My family should have already been there, since that year was the first time my little brother was eligible. My parents were trying to convince him to start training like I had, but he was so stubborn. It was unlikely that that would ever happen. If he had his mind set on something, there was no changing it.

I finally made it to the reapings and went to my section. After looking around, I didn't see any of my friends anywhere. Oh well, there'd be other times I'd be able to see them... Like after I win the Hunger Games!

**District 2- Jagger Krall**

I woke up to the annoying blaring of my alarm. I flailed my arm out until I hit it and knocked the stupid clock to the ground. After a few more beeps, it finally stopped. I groaned and sat up in my bed. The reapings were the last place I wanted to be. I wasn't very good at tolerating people and there would be plenty of them there.

The way I had been raised, or rather, the way I hadn't been raised, was anti-socially. My parents were always out, so I was usually alone in our huge house. I rarely went outside, or had any human interaction, so I just kind of tossed away my emotions for people. The positive ones, at least. I spent most of time at home in our gym we had in the basement. That is, until I moved out. As soon as I turned 18, I packed my bags and left. I wouldn't even be surprised if my parents didn't know I was gone. I took a huge chunk of their money and got myself my own place. I suppose it was better. It's silly for one person to live in a massive house by themselves, so it made more sense to move.

I got out of bed and threw on a dress shirt and some pants before fixing my brown hair until it looked decent. I checked the clock, which was still on the floor and probably would stay there for a while. Shit! The reapings were starting in just a few minutes. I quickly made my way out of the house and to the reapings. When I got there, the female tribute was already up. Apparently her name was Cartatia or something. She looked cocky and overconfident, I immediately disliked her. I had heard that she would be the one volunteering this year. Actually, District 2 was having less and less people train to volunteer nowadays. After the whole 'failed rebellion', I had noticed a significant drop in volunteers, from our district especially. For example, this year there was no male volunteer.

I made my way to the back of the 18 year old section. Our hideous escort made her way back to the big glass bowl with the names and picked one for the male tribute.

"Jagger Krall."

I'm sure I had a pretty unimpressed face on, mainly because I was, along with bored. I pushed my way through the crowd of people until I was at the stage. Oh, it was just fabulous. I waited in the justice building. I wasn't really expecting anyone, maybe my parents, but I didn't care less about them. My mother was the first one to come in, followed by my father.

"Jagger, we're so upset that this happened to you." My mother said as she sat down beside me.

"Yeah, bullshit."

"Jagger, you know we care about you, we want you to come home." My father put his hand on my shoulder.

I quickly jumped up away from him.

"That is the biggest load of bull crap I have ever heard! You two have never been there for me when I needed you, and I grew up on my own! You two never gave a single fuck about me, did you even know I moved out? Or did you just assume I've just been 'around' as usual! You're the absolute worst parents ever!" After all the screaming, I had to stop for a moment to catch my breath before continuing to rant with gritted teeth.

"I highly doubt you realize how much growing up alone affected me! I'm now completely emotionally scarred, but I doubt you knew that, since you never even see me! I'm going to go out there and win the Hunger Games. Not for you, not for anyone. I'm winning for me and me alone. Because no one has ever been there for me, except myself! ``

I looked down and realized how hard my fists were clenched, I hadn't even noticed. Without a second thought, I pulled my arm back and punched my father square in the face. He let out a small grunt of pain before peacekeepers rushed in to grab me. As they were dragging me off, a wave of satisfaction fell over me. That had been the most emotion I had felt in a long time. Now I felt more determined than ever. I had to win; I had to win for myself.

**ugh sorry for taking so long to update, i've just been procrastinating if I ever take long to update again just like message me and tell me to write cause chances are i'm not doing anything important :P**

**hopefully you enjoy this chapter! if i've written your tribute please tell me if i wrote them how you wanted them to be and all that jazz**

**i really appreciate everyone who reviews so ya thanks and let me know what you though of this chapter! :D**


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